Herringbone Quilt

Rachel @ Stitched in Color has been a long time inspiration. She was one of the first quilt blogs I followed, and is still blogging. Last year she updated her Herringbone Block Tutorial to use 2.5 inch strips and I have been dying to make one myself. Plus her color use of pinks, browns, and blues made my heart patter. Truth be told, all her color combinations make my heart patter! 

The tutorial is super easy to follow even though the block looks complicated! I did a few test runs before cutting and was impressed with the ease.

I have been working this pile of fabric for a while and finally settled. Les Fleurs was the final addition before the cutting began.  The darker colors provided a nice contrast to some of the pale fabrics. Some metallics also snuck in at the last minute! 

Here are my testers, this quilt has me quite excited.

School Charity Quilt

At my school the family and consumer science teacher has always donated a raffle quilt. All the proceeds go to help needy families in our building, as many of the families need help with the holidays. 

The torch along has been passed along! 

When pulling fabrics from my stash, I went with a gender neutral theme. The quilt will be done using Cluck Cluck Sew's tutorial Squares and Stripes. It looks like a nice quick pattern!

My absolute favorites in the bunch! 

Summer Heat

Oh man, this summer heat has defiantly put a damper on my productivity. Summer school is officially over and I have no excuse to waste away my days with nothing to show. 

That's partially a lie. 

Things have been happening around here just not in the sewing room. I am still on the house hunt. Of course, the market decided to "heat up" at the exact moment I'm looking. Still, there is hope. Something will happen, at some point in time. Fingers crossed. My only requirements is I have sewing space, with ample storage for my fabric.  It's non-negotiable!

Chambray's are my new favorite. 

I picked these {very well priced} Robert Kaufman chambray's at Fabric.com.

Yardage from Fat Quarter Shop

Summer Sun Pure Elements Bundle 

Dixie by Cluck Cluck Sew

A group of quilt guilt friends went out to dinner last night, and we discussed how fabric sewing decreases in the summer and fabric acquisition increases. Anyone else experiencing the problem?

Here is to my +22 yards increase. Oops, I blame the heat. Although, in my defense this year I have sewn a record amount of fabric. Even with this new bender I am at a net of - 88.5 yards for the year!

That is almost 30 pounds of fabric!

Attention: Fellow Bloggers and Photo Enthusiast 

Amanda at The Cozy Pumpkin just wrapped up her "Photo 1-0 Fun" series. It's free, well-done, and worth a read. I have been shooting with a DSLR for years and I learned some new things! She started with the basics and went through the different aspects of shooting manual, lenses, and post processing. 

Picnic Pinwheels: Throw Size

Last month I released my first pattern called Picnic Pinwheels. In September I only had time to make the baby sized quilt. So, while cleaning out my stash I found a jelly roll that would be perfect for this pattern, so I tried out the throw size. Here is what I came up with! I used Chantilly by Lauren and Jessi Jung for Moda. 

Clearly when I took the photos I forgot to capture the backing, oops. Well its a pretty grey and white floral. This quilt has such a nice drape, and is super soft! Still debating if it's a keeper ...

Net Zero Update: 
One jelly roll -2.75 yards, Extra coordinating fabric -0.5, Background fabric - 3 yards, Backing Fabric - 3.5 yards, and Binding - 0.5 yards.  This quilt puts me at a net loss of -10 yards for this project and a monthly total of - 20 yards.

Sew Your Stash: Triangle Quilt Tutorial

This summer was too good to be true when it came to summer sales, plus a trip to Marden's for $4.99 per yard designer fabric has really put me in a surplus situation. Ok, my stash is busting at the seams.  I am not one to keep a big stash and since I have outgrown my cart it's time to give myself a good ole reality check. What I have determined, it's time to sew my stash! The goal for the remainder of the year is not quite a fabric fast (that doesn't work for me) but a NET ZERO policy. At the end of each month the goal is to sew more than I purchase, or at least come out net zero. For me, this means I  sew as much as I buy. Who's with me?

Need an idea for a stash or scrap buster? How about this cute triangle quilt? This one finished just shy of a twin sized and I'll tell you how I made it. My grandmother gets me different rulers when she gets coupons from Joann's, and happened to get me these Quilt Sense Wonder Triangles. I highly recommend getting a ruler to make this quilt, but it's not necessary. Sorry there are no progress shots of this quilt being made. One over caffeinated afternoon this quilt happened.

For materials, I pulled a variety of fabrics, both half yards and fat quarters from my stash, about 22 different prints totaling 5 yards. I cut the fabric into 5.5 inch strips, usually two strips of each color. Then used the 5 inch mark on the ruler to cut triangles. The end pieces from the strips became the end triangles to the quilt.  You could also use full triangles then trim them down. 

For a quilt this size you will need 368 triangles, and 32 end pieces. Just a heads up one fat quarter will yield 15 triangles, and one 5.5 strip x WOF (width of fabric at 42 inches) will yield 12 triangles. I made piles of 20 triangles until I had the amount needed. Since I was using my stash I kept incorporating more fabrics until I had enough, then cut a few extra "just in case."  

Next, sew rows of 24 triangles. Speed Tip: This quilt included such a variety of prints, I just sewed together chunks of 8 triangles. Keep going until you have 16 rows in total. Lay out the triangles so that different values and prints are nicely mixed throughout the quilt and sew the rows together.

The quilt top should be about 62.5 inches by 80 inches at this point. If you want a twin sized quilt a 5 inch border on all sides to give this quilt ample drape. The backing will require 4.5 yards of fabric (this number is without borders). I used a Michael Miller flannel to make this quilt super snuggly and the binding is about a half yard of fabric or 8 - 2.5 inch strips.

The top quilting is done using simple straight line stitches one inch apart in pink thread. I also like triangles with just an echo on both sides of all the seams as another quilting idea.

So, how am I doing on my net zero policy after this quilt? This will put me at a -10 yards; 5 yards for the front, 4.5 yards for the backing, and a half yard for binding. My stash is still overflowing but at least I am headed in the right direction! Plus I have a super snuggly quilt to snuggle under during this nice crisp weather. Happy fall sewing! 

- Patch & Chels 

Stash Bee: Hive Six

Some months I have it all right, and some months I don't. April was a do not have it all together month. Although, the vacation was time well spent, it really messed with my sewing time. This is actually LAST months Stash Bee block for Nicole in Hive 6. She requested Polaroids!  How retro and fun. 

The block was paper pieced and went together smoothly, the hardest part was "taking the picture." What was I going to fussy cut into the centers?!  Nicole also asked us to share the best thing we ever made. Well the best thing was a teddy bear I made my Father using a dress shirt of my Papa's. It was an experience to work in 3D and meaningful to use something so special. 

Signing out a week late .... 

-Patch & Chels